The Moyer Family Murder/Suicide

Sometimes you just never know what's going on in someone's head. Sometimes there's no outward reason, no obvious go-to to help explain any given tragedy. There's no known abuse or domestic problems...neither partner is having any kind of affair...an all around happy family.

But a darkness is churning within that no one else is aware of but the sufferer. And it builds until that darkness explodes outward in the most surprising and horrifying of ways.

An only child, Christopher Moyer grew up in North Whitehall Township of Pennsylvania, in the village of Neffs. He was a trumpet player as a child through high school and attended Kutztown University.

Irina Elizabeth Geller was a native of the Ukraine and married Christopher in 2002 and one year later they moved into a neighborhood named Redstone Drive. The couple was reportedly private people, keeping to themselves and not really participating in activities held by the community.

Neighbors said that while Chris was 'quirky', 'standoffish', possibly 'controlling' but none of them thought that 'it would come to this'.

Neighbors also commented that they never witnessed the couple fight or argue, there were no domestic charges against either Chris or Irina. And by all accounts, Chris really loved his son.

However on the night of June 17th 2011, Chris made a 911 call reporting, in a calm and collected manner, that he had murdered his wife and son. When asked by the operator for confirmation that they were dead, he replied, "Yes, I did." Go on to say that he was certain that his wife and seven-year-old son were dead.

Before Chris hung up the phone, he thanked the operator. His calmness throughout the conversation was rather odd, as when most people call and confess to murdering their family, they're anything but calm.

Warren Moyer, Chris's father, had spoken to him earlier that day, saying, "We spoke on Friday morning and he seemed to be in good spirits." He even mentioned that he had spoken of renewing a contract with a client. He also said that during an ensuant call, that Chris said he no longer wanted to talk.

On the night of the 17th, Chris was supposed to drop his son, Dylan, off at his maternal grandmother's house. One of his teachers said the boy spent a lot of time with his grandparents, as his artwork often revolved around his grandparents and him.

It's unclear why Chris killed his family, but regardless of the reasoning, while Dylan and Irina were sleeping, he bludgeoned them both to death with a baseball bat. He moved Irina into the bathroom and set a towel over his face. He left Dylan on his bed, the baseball bat nearby.

The police surrounded the house only minutes later, but Chris was already gone. The police ended up entering the residence, discovering the two bodies inside.

Irina's parents, who had driven to the house after being unable to reach them, were told at the scene about the murders. The police found Chris's body on train tracks not long after SEPTA had reported that one of the trains had hit someone.

Chris had laid down on the track, hanging his neck over it. It is thought that he had known or learned the train schedule and waited for decapitation from the train.

The ME concluded that Chris died by suicide, and Dylan and Irina died by blunt force trauma.

Dylan was described by teachers as a child with above average intelligence and that it was obvious his parents were very invested in his education. "You could tell that they read at home", one teacher said.

The conclusive motive is not something that police have ever been able to really find, but they suspected that financial problems may have been his motivation. In 2006, the Moyer's had just been able to avoid their home being foreclosed on and had managed to pay off a federal lien the state had filed of $2,228.

Authorities are said to have found $1,300 in Chris's pocket and notes to his family members apologizing for killing himself.

Dr. Rocio Nell, an expert in his field, said that parents that kill their children are usually crippled with despair and furthermore said that suicidal people who kill loved ones generally believe that they feel the family members are better off dead.

Tony Salvatore, who is the chair of Montgomery County's Suicide Prevention Team agreed with Dr. Nell, adding, “In the mind of that father, when some people, particularly men, get suicidal and decide the world would be better off without them, they believe those close to them would be better off not to be there too.”

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Catherine MacKenzie

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Catherine MacKenzie

Words are my expression. The worlds created, my escape. Leave reality for a while.